The Tech Shooter's Writings Show He Was "Disturbed" (1067 hits)
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Submitted by Razor <Jeremy_21117.at.hotmail.com> (View user info) at 2007-04-19 10:36:17 EDT
So, I'm sure everyone who's been reading about this thing that happened to VA Tech has heard by now that he was producing "disturbed" writing in his classes and had been recommended for counseling.
Well, The Smoking Gun has obtained a copy of the play in question:
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0417071vtech1.html
I read the whole thing, and I can't help but think I see worse on Ubersite on a regular basis. I mean, this guy wouldn't have even made it past round two of Ubermadness with this load of spunk, and they wanted him to go seek counseling over this?
Granted, he was clearly a fucked up and disturbed guy, but I fail to see how this "literary work" is connected with such a thing.
It worries me that we're now going to enter into another one of those cycles where people who write macabre things will wind up being viewed with suspicion in their schools and homes.
I, among others here, have written significantly more disturbing pieces of work. In one of my stories, I wrote about a girl who held her ex-lover captive and slowly burned off pieces of his body with hydrochloric acid. Was that a sign that I was one day going to become a solid middle class citizen, lovingly raising two little children from my house in the 'burbs?
I mean, what about guys like Stephen King? He writes stuff that makes this "Richard McBeef" thing look like a Sesame Street episode for a living, and I don't think we keep SWAT teams positioned within a mile of his house in case he goes off one day.
Has anyone recommended Wes Craven for psychological treatment? I hear he has nightmares...
User Reviews
Submitted by simple_catalyst (user info) at 2007-04-23 11:04:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
no wonder dude went ape-shit, his writing was shittier than electro's.
Submitted by guitarjunky421 (user info) at 2007-04-20 12:10:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
no comment
Submitted by Manfre (user info) at 2007-04-20 08:12:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2007-04-19 12:41:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
How can you lock down a college campus? It's not like an elementary school where everyone is in the same building. Where exactly would they have been safe?
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College campuses have, on average, about 2 or 3 entrances where people have to go through a driveway to get into the parking lot. Post 2 or 4 cops at each entrance, telling people to go home, would have effectively locked down the campus to those living off campus, which wouldnt have affected too many people, as most live on campus.
You lock down the buildings, I dont know any campus that has more than 15 buildings, with more than 4 entrances each. Have the faculty go around locking the doors, keeping people from getting into, but not out of, the buildings, with a sign on the doors saying "classes cancelled for the day, please watch the news for further information."
You then have the campus security, as every campus worth its salt has to have campus security, go dorm to dorm, and check everyones rooms for weapons, as well as the state, and local authorities. If I remember reading correctly, they had at least 2 police departments there.
Its actually pretty simple to lock down a school campus. They did it to my campus at 9/11, when they closed it down for the day, and turned students away due to all classes being cancelled, and again at my ex's school, when there was a bomb threat, and they had her school on lock down.
Just cause there are multiple buildings, doesnt mean you cant lock down an entire campus. Especially when they dont know where the murderer was, and just immediately assumed he left the campus, and everything was ok. Fact is, even if they just cancelled classes for the day, and had cops at all the entrances, they would have kept the fucker from killing anyone, as he was at the fucking post office mailing a package.
Armchair coaches are the best, but the reality of it is, they really dropped the ball when they did nothing for 2 hours after the first shooting, which allowed the other 30 people to be killed. They fucked up, plain and simple.
If theres a murder of one person in a community such as a college campus (especially a college campus) you lock everything down that you can, thats in your power, to make sure the killer doesnt kill anyone else, and if possible, if hes still in the area, you can catch them. If there are key cards that you have to swipe to enter each building, then you find out who came and left in about a 15-20 minute period, that seems a lil strange. You find who came and went in a short period of time, even those that left shortly after they think the murder happened, then you go out and find those people to question them. Because they are all suspects in a murder investigation. And yes, if they had security cards requiring a swipe to enter, they can tell who came and went. Each one has the persons identity it belongs to attached to it, so they know who comes and goes.
Submitted by Phinch (user info) at 2007-04-20 02:10:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Thats what I was thinking.
Submitted by kuroneko_sama (user info) at 2007-04-20 01:00:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
that means we are all highly potential mass murderers
Submitted by pandora (user info) at 2007-04-19 23:36:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
I agree that we start to wander into blurry territory when we start claiming that drawings, writing, etc. can indicate that someone is disturbed or potentially homicidal. The human mind doesn't work in such a simple fashion. I mean, look at the paintings of somebody like Hieronymous Bosch. You'd think a guy that constantly painted pictures of nightmarish monsters, people getting sodomized, and dudes pooping would've gone on a shooting spree or two in his time, right? But no, instead his work was merely considered "symbolic" and he was a darling of the church. In conclusion: We are crazier now than we were in the 1400's.
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2007-04-19 16:57:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by bart (user info) at 2007-04-19 16:28:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I believe in freedom of speech as long as people don't say anything that really weirds me out.
Submitted by YELLOW-MAN (user info) at 2007-04-19 16:26:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2007-04-19 15:16:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
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Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2007-04-19 07:55:26 PDT (#)
Ranking: 0
it's 'mon ami' with no 'e'
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no, he just called you a girl....OOOH SNAP
Submitted by icarus1987 (user info) at 2007-04-19 15:03:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Actually, Cho sounds just a bit like ETS the way he keeps making paralells to conspiracy theories. "YOU MURDERED MY REAL DAD, JUST LIKE THE FBI KILLED JOHN LENON!" "YOU WOULDN'T LEGGO MY EGGO, JUST LIKE BLACK OPS WON'T LEGGO OF THE REAL LOCATION OF AREA 51!"
Submitted by firefly (user info) at 2007-04-19 14:26:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Orgasmatron (user info) at 2007-04-19 14:21:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I haven't read the works yet, but I'm thinking the connection between the shootings and the writing is a bit iffy. You're right, there is a wealth of fucked up and senseless material here that would make a news anchor blanche and a psychologist cream themselves. I'd like to think most of us here are fairly well balanced. Maybe that's giving some people too much credit.
I'd love to read some psych evals written after reading some of this site's more choice offerings.
I wonder what my profile would say.
I wonder what yours would say.
Submitted by MidnightToSix (user info) at 2007-04-19 14:05:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
He was majoring in Engrish. That's the point. The writing was awful and disturbed. It reminded me of what Cartman sees when he closes his eyes. I thought normally they just made soldiers out of these guys.
Submitted by retrospect (user info) at 2007-04-19 12:43:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
the only thing disturbing about his writings is that he was a THIRD year English major
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2007-04-19 12:41:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
How can you lock down a college campus? It's not like an elementary school where everyone is in the same building. Where exactly would they have been safe?
Submitted by Manfre (user info) at 2007-04-19 12:12:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
The video he made kinda looks like he was way too into CS. I mean, if youre gonna go on a killing rampage, sure you wanna look your best, but I mean beige vest and black pants? Come on. At least be fashionable.
His voice just screamed crazy too. I dont know how they didnt catch this sooner, and the fact that he went to the post office after killing the first 2 people, and they were so fucking lax about locking down the school, regardless if it was an isolated incident or not, the police and school just fucked up royally. They could have saved about 30 or so lives if they had done their fucking job to begin with.
Not condoning what he did, the guy was fucking nuts, just that the school and police could have prevented the bulk of the deaths by actually doing something after the first 2 people were killed.
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2007-04-19 12:05:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by Razor (user info) at 2007-04-19 11:47:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
There's a big difference between the people killed in Iraq and the killings at Tech, and Loki hit the nail right on the head.
Iraq is a war zone, you expect that there will be crazy casualties. It doesn't make it any better, it's a horrible loss of life, but when there is suddenly a high casualty count anywhere where there is not regular violence, it qualifies as news.
I expect that more people died of starvation in Africa than died in Iraq of violence on any day, but that doesn't even make it onto the news as an aside.
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Way to 'hit the nail right on the head', Captain Obvious
Doesn't everyone during their childhood ask their parents why we don't ever hear about starving africans?
Could you enlighten me more on the obvious please?
ZZZZzzzzzZZZzzzz
Submitted by nitty34 (user info) at 2007-04-19 11:58:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Yeah, I read that too.
I was somewhat less than impressed.
Submitted by apollo88 (user info) at 2007-04-19 11:48:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
i said this three days ago therefore i am better than you.
Submitted by Razor (user info) at 2007-04-19 11:47:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
There's a big difference between the people killed in Iraq and the killings at Tech, and Loki hit the nail right on the head.
Iraq is a war zone, you expect that there will be crazy casualties. It doesn't make it any better, it's a horrible loss of life, but when there is suddenly a high casualty count anywhere where there is not regular violence, it qualifies as news.
I expect that more people died of starvation in Africa than died in Iraq of violence on any day, but that doesn't even make it onto the news as an aside.
Submitted by Razor (user info) at 2007-04-19 11:45:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Adam -
http://www.ubersite.com/m/100850#2386068
Submitted by Adamdidit2u (user info) at 2007-04-19 11:37:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
http://www.ubersite.com/m/100850
I did this yesterday
Submitted by FartSmeller (user info) at 2007-04-19 11:31:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by particle_man58 (user info) at 2007-04-19 11:25:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Ya know whats really funny? Everyone is saying what a tragedy it is that this kid went postal on 30 college kids, yet no one seemed to notice that unsurgent forces in Iraq killed 183 people with car bombs today.
The US is fucking blind to the rest of the world, and the longer I'm over here the more I realize how totally fucked up the US is.
I'm about ready to move to fuckin Australia and live in the middle of nowhere.
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I was just thinking that same thing the day this news broke. It occured to me that when the empty suits broke from talking about how tragically tragic the tragedy was at VT to say, "Also, 35 people were killed in Iraq when a bomb exploded outside of a HOSPITAL, now back to the important news about the tragedy of all tragedies". By the way, I'm American.
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2007-04-19 11:28:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Everyone knows about the bombing in Iraq. Sad to say that is not unusual considering the ongoing conflict. This thing at Va. Tech is far more unusual in that is it to date the worst mass school shooting in US history. It's not like Va. Tech is a war zone.
Submitted by particle_man58 (user info) at 2007-04-19 11:25:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Ya know whats really funny? Everyone is saying what a tragedy it is that this kid went postal on 30 college kids, yet no one seemed to notice that unsurgent forces in Iraq killed 183 people with car bombs today.
The US is fucking blind to the rest of the world, and the longer I'm over here the more I realize how totally fucked up the US is.
I'm about ready to move to fuckin Australia and live in the middle of nowhere.
Submitted by no1hasdis (user info) at 2007-04-19 11:15:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
That play isn't "disturbing" or "macabre" or much of anything. It's just plain old uninspired crap. A monkey could have done better. And here I always thought McCallum was a talentless hack.
Submitted by FartSmeller (user info) at 2007-04-19 11:15:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
His letters were the only clue that he was disturbed in some way?
Submitted by thorpe (user info) at 2007-04-19 10:56:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Does this mean Electro is going to be the next school shooter?
Submitted by Beano312003 (user info) at 2007-04-19 10:56:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
No Comment
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2007-04-19 10:55:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
it's 'mon ami' with no 'e'
pff comment is hilarious
Submitted by loki (user info) at 2007-04-19 10:51:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I can't get into the smokinggun at work, but I've been wondering about this very issue. Sure there are signs, now with the benefit of hindsight. I think it was more than just this play though. There were complaints from two girls about him stalking them. In both cases though the charges were dropped. I think that taken together it all paints quite a picture, but where do you draw the line and call someone a future school shooter.
Submitted by professorfuckface (user info) at 2007-04-19 10:45:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
YOU'VE BEEN A BAD JEW GO TO YOUR GAS CHAMBER FOR 10 MINUTES AND NO SUPER MARIO KARTS
Submitted by Coyote (user info) at 2007-04-19 10:45:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
It's the lack of talent that alarmed people.
That and the inability to discuss the work in a rational way, or write anything *but* that kind of thing.
Speaking as someone who's been referred to the school psychologist for a creative writing assignment here... if you're not an utter sociopath and can carry on an intelligent conversation about your work (or make money off it), you won't get much hassle over it.
Submitted by Razor (user info) at 2007-04-19 10:44:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2007-04-19 10:42:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
this point was made by a million columnist already.
you're late and redundant
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Sorry I didn't troll the news making sure nobody else made my point before I posted about it. I just saw that TSG had his play that such a big deal was made about, and this was my reaction.
I'll do better for you next time, mon amie.
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2007-04-19 10:42:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: -1
this point was made by a million columnist already.
you're late and redundant
Submitted by sicosemen (user info) at 2007-04-19 10:41:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I can't read the link at work but I'll take your word for it. Association is a bitch.
Submitted by professorfuckface (user info) at 2007-04-19 10:39:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
already been posted, today was all about the tapes
http://stuff.ubersite.com/117500383272711709/1/lookatthetime.jpg
